Innehållsförteckning för September 30, 2018 från Wine Spectator

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With a 15-year career in the NBA, Dwyane Wade, 36, has devoted the majority of his life to basketball. But recently, the three-time NBA champion, 12-time All-Star and longtime Miami Heat leading man has been training for another game entirely. In 2014, Wade teamed up with Napa’s prominent Pahlmeyer winemaking family to start his own project, Wade Cellars. His first branded wine, the Wade Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2012, launched in China in 2015. Soon after, the wine made its appearance stateside. Today, Wade Cellars comprises two labels: the flagship, Wade, whose current offering is the Wade Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2014 (mostly Oakville-grown fruit), and Three By Wade, which includes a 2014 California red blend, a 2015 Napa red blend and a 2017 California rosé from Mendocino. Jonathan Keyes—whose…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 94 Xavier Monnot Meursault Les Chevalières 2015 $75 FRANCE This linear white keeps a tight leash on the lime blossom, peach, melon and apple flavors, with a creamy texture and a mineral vein. COLLECTIBLE 95 Bodegas Aalto Ribera del Duero PS 2015 $120 SPAIN Flavors of blackberry and currant mingle with notes of anise, nutmeg, forest floor and mineral in this sleek red. Expressive and harmonious, in the modern style. SMART BUY 90 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2015 $22 OREGON Polished and harmonious, this red offers expressive flavors of raspberry and smoky spice that glide along the finish. BEST VALUE 88 Agrimota Douro Lago Cerqueira 2014 $10 PORTUGAL This polished, full-bodied red features glazed cherry and red plum pudding notes detailed with herb, pepper and fresh…

Pierre-Yves Colin draws a sample of pale yellow-golden liquid from a barrel with his pipette. “This vintage amazes me because you can have creaminess, but the wines are not fat or heavy,” he says. It is January 2017 and we are tasting Colin’s Meursault Perrières 2015 in the new cellar located in the industrial zone outside Chassagne-Montrachet that he com-pleted in time for the 2015 harvest. This is a wine I’ll eventually rate 94 points on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale ($180) when I formally review it in a blind tasting more than a year later, but for now I’m focused just on Colin’s impressions of the vintage. I ask him to compare it with its predecessor, 2014. “In my cellar, I prefer 2015—it reminds me of the first vintage I…

As time passes, change is inevitable. The task for any organization is to find the opportunities in-side the challenges. We are now entering a period of change in our tastings, and we are planning to use it as a springboard to position our editorial team for continuity and success in the coming years. Senior editor James Laube, who joined Wine Spectator in 1981, has been the linchpin of our coverage of California wine, reviewing thousands of the state’s wines annually. Several years ago, Jim told us he wanted to step back from tasting newly released wines in order to focus more on his writing. That period of tran-sition gave us the opportunity to put a succession plan in place. Senior editor Kim Marcus will take on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir…

In a move that blends continuity and change in Wine Spectator’s comprehensive coverage of California wine, senior editor and Napa bureau chief Kim Marcus has been appointed lead taster for the state’s Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, and senior editor James Molesworth will become lead taster for Cabernet Sauvignon. These categories were long reviewed by senior editor James Laube, 66, who joined Wine Spectator full time in 1983 and who during his career with the magazine has reviewed every category of wine made in California, as well as wines from around the world. “After more than 30 years of tasting thousands of wines annually, I’ve decided to step back from reviewing new releases,” Laube said. “I want to devote more time to writing and take a different approach to reviewing wines.”…

There was something for every type of wine lover at the annual Heart’s Delight charity wine tasting and auction in Washington, D.C. Held May 9 to 12, the event delivered four days packed with auctions, master classes, and large and small wine dinners featuring top vintners and chefs. In total, it raised $1.5 million for the American Heart Association, with more than $488,000 coming from live-auction bids. The event has raised more than $18 million for the AHA since its inception in 1999. “It’s been tremendous to see how many returning winemakers and chefs we have on an annual basis,” Brian Kearney, executive committee member, told Wine Spectator. Members of Congress from both parties were in attendance, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, and Rep. Mike Thompson, Democrat of…

My favorite road trip is a spectacular drive across four different valleys, connecting Napa to the Mendocino coast. The only thing some of us need for a happy break from the daily grind is to get in our cars and drive—that plus a destination to look forward to. It could be as simple as a trip to the ice cream parlor or something farther afield like a favorite fishing spot. Anything, really, that forces you to slow down and soak in the beauty around you as you go. Consider it contemplative renewal. My favorite road trip connects my home in Napa to the Mendocino coast about 130 miles away, most of it on magnificent country roads with panoramic views. It starts in Napa on High-way 29 and leads north through…

1 AUREOLE LAS VEGAS Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (702) 632-7401; mandalaybay.com 2 BARDOT BRASSERIE Aria Resort and Casino, 3730 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (877) 230-2742; aria.com 3 BAVETTE’S STEAKHOUSE & BAR Park MGM Las Vegas, 3770 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (702) 730-6700; parkmgm.com 4 BAZAAR MEAT BY JOSÉ ANDRÉS SLS Las Vegas, 2535 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (702) 761-7610; slslasvegas.com 5 CARBONE Aria Resort and Casino, 3730 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (877) 230-2742; aria.com 6 CARSON KITCHEN 124 S. Sixth St.; (702) 473-9523; carsonkitchen.com 7 CHICA The Venetian Resort, Hotel & Casino, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (702) 805-8472; chicalasvegas.com 8 DELMONICO STEAKHOUSE The Venetian Resort, Hotel & Casino, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (702) 414-3737; emerilsrestaurants.com 9 ESTIATORIO MILOS The Cosmopolitan of Las…

This Buying Guide contains ratings of new releases from around the world. Complete tasting notes are provided for new releases scoring 85 or more points (on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale, explained below); notes for wines scoring 84 points or less are included at the discretion of the taster. Hundreds of addi-tional reviews appear each month on our website, www.winespectator.com. Each review carries the initials of the Wine Spectator editor who blind-tasted and scored the wine and wrote the review, based on the regional specializations indicated below. If no reviewer’s initials appear, the wine was tasted by a panel of Wine Spectator editors. James Laube California Harvey Steiman At large Thomas Matthews Spain Kim Marcus California, Argentina, Chile Bruce Sanderson Italy, Burgundy, Austria James Molesworth Bordeaux, Rhône Valley, Loire Valley,…

Sassicaia Sentiment I was reading a recent issue of Wine Spectator and was impressed by a letter entitled “First Sassicaia Class” (Feedback, June 15) in which the author shares the memory of a tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon wines she attended together with her husband, over 20 years ago. This tasting included Sassicaia, the wine my family produces in Tuscany. I would like to sincerely thank Ms. Lynetta Martin for not only describing the event but also sharing their personal experience and emotions that lasted across so many years. This is what we hope to achieve with the wines we produce: to transmit to consumers and wine lovers unforgettable positive emotions. Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta Owner, Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri, Italy Happy Surprise One of the joys of being a wine…

Some of the world’s greatest performers have graced the sets at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif. But for the 1,400 attendees at the 29th annual Culinary Evening with the California Wine-masters, held May 19, the true stars were people like Grace Rose Bauer, the event’s honorary ambassador and a 15-year-old cystic fibrosis patient. The event has raised $32 million for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since its founding. The 2018 auction generated $1.74 million, including $475,000 in live-auction bids, $300,000 in silent auctions and $500,000 from its special “Bid for a Cure” fund-a-need lot. “Our audience has watched our Winemasters ambassador Grace Rose grow up before their eyes,” Barbara Balik, director of special giving for the Foundation, told Wine Spectator. “Many in the audience are very attached to Grace Rose,…

If you’re looking for a sophisticated contemporary take on Southern hospitality and food, Blackberry Farm is the place to find it. A family-run luxury resort tucked amid rolling hills and misty forests on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee, Blackberry Farm offers a blend of traditional Appalachian cuisine—frugal, efficient, seasonal, local, often cooked with fire and smoke—and an eclectic, innovative approach reaching far beyond the bounds of its picturesque locale. The farm has black truffle beds masquerading as a hazelnut orchard, extensive vegetable gardens, a cornfield—and, to top it all off, they make their own cheese. A Wine Spectator Grand Award winner, it produces a wide range of goods, about 100 of which are available online (blackberryfarmshop.com). Master gardener John Coykendall scours the planet…

BIG COUNTRY This selection of reds and whites shows the breadth of Spain’s bounty, led by Ribera del Duero for reds and Rías Baixas for whites. There’s also a terrific Sherry, a Godello from Bierzo and an offbeat white from Catalonia. BODEGAS Y VIÑEDOS VALDERIZ Ribera del Duero De Chiripa 2016 (92, $20) Cherry, red plum, dark chocolate, leafy, smoky; sleek, fresh DOMINIO DE ATAUTA Ribera del Duero Torre de Golbán Crianza 2015 (91, $16) Dense; black cherry, red plum, licorice, espresso, floral EMILIO LUSTAU Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda Papirusa NV (91, $16) Dried lemon peel, chamomile, chalk, almond; zingy, tense FINCA VILLACRECES Ribera del Duero Pruno 2016 (91, $20) Firm, dense; black cherry, plum, smoke, loam, floral, mineral DOMINIO DE ATAUTA Ribera del Duero Torre de Golbán Reserva 2014…

Restaurants in the big hotels can typically draw from a group cellar, but also offer unique choices that set them apart. Somewhere in almost every Las Vegas resort restaurant, a glassed-in display cellar signals that wine is part of the deal. The famous multistory wine tower at Aureole, a Wine Spectator Grand Award winner, is perhaps the most visible evidence that the city’s casino resorts sport more comprehensive wine lists than might be found most anywhere else in America. The restaurants range from outposts by celebrity chefs to offbeat newcomers both on the Strip and in parts of the city tourists are now beginning to discover. Earlier this year, I visited nearly 20 of them to report on developments in the current scene (“Wine Wins in Las Vegas,” page 40).…

ANTHONY’S PRIME STEAK & SEAFOOD RESTAURANT M Resort Spa Casino, 12300 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Henderson Telephone (702) 797-1700 Website themresort.com Wine strengths California, Bordeaux Cuisine Seafood/Steak house Menu prices Expensive AQUAKNOX The Venetian Resort, Hotel & Casino, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas Telephone (702) 414-3772 Website aquaknox.net Wine strengths California, France Cuisine Seafood Menu prices Expensive AUREOLE LAS VEGAS Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas Telephone (702) 632-7401 Website mandalaybay.com Wine strengths Burgundy, California, Bordeaux, Italy, Germany, Rhône, Spain, Australia, Champagne, Austria Cuisine American Menu prices Expensive AUSTINS STEAKHOUSE Texas Station Hotel & Casino, 2101 Texas Star Lane, North Las Vegas Telephone (702) 288-7826 Website texasstation.sclv.com/dining/feast-buffet Wine strengths California Cuisine Steak house Menu prices Moderate BARDOT BRASSERIE Aria Resort and…

Charcoal Venice, Josiah Citrin’s grill-centric restaurant on the southern edge of his home-town, was inspired by home entertaining. “I got a Green Egg for Father’s Day years ago. We always had cookouts and parties; you have a lot of friends when you stay where you grew up,” he says. “It’s a vibe, raising kids with friends. They play, we cook, have some wine. Now they’re older and I miss it.” He wanted to bring that feeling to a restaurant: “That was how Charcoal was born. Live fire means an afternoon at someone’s house having a good time.” Charcoal, which opened in 2015, is as warm and fun as in-tended. Mélisse, Citrin’s more serene fine dining restaurant, turns 20 next year. Together, the restaurants reflect the backgrounds of Citrin and Joseph…

Highly Recommended The issue’s most impressive wines. Includes top-scorers and wines that represent optimal purchases based on their combination of score, price and availability. 96 Albino Rocca Barbaresco Vigna Loreto Ovello 2015$62 ITALY Pretty cherry, strawberry and floral aromas and flavors define this elegant, supple red. Firmly structured and beautifully integrated, leaving a lingering aftertaste of iron, tobacco and underbrush. Best from 2022 through 2042. 200 cases made.—B.S. 95 Antinori Chianti Classico Badia a Passig-nano Gran Selezione 2013$60 ITALY Austere and still reticent, this intense red nonetheless has the hall-marks of a terrific Chianti Classico, saturated with black cherry, black currant, olive, cedar and tobacco flavors that stand up to the beefy tannins. The vibrant acidity keeps this fluid and long. Best from 2020 through 2035. 1,100 cases imported.—B.S. 95…

AUSTRIA 95 Kracher Chardonnay Trockenbeerenauslese Burgenland Nouvelle Vague No. 7 2015 $130/375ml This is off to an intense start, but the creaminess is quickly sliced by precise, refreshing acidity, an important facet in such a complex dessert-style wine. Features flavors of apple pie, creamed honey and sweet spice, and continues to give while unraveling on the palate, ending with a salted caramel note. The finish caresses the palate and seems to last forever. Drink now through 2034. 100 cases imported.—B.S. 94 Kracher Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese Burgenland Zwischen den Seen No. 10 2015 $140/375ml Apricot, butterscotch and spice flavors are lifted by a hint of acetone in the aroma. On the palate, the sweetness is balanced by bright acidity, driving this to an apple and brown spice aftertaste. Drink now through 2030.…

CALIFORNIA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 93 Crown Point Cabernet Sauvignon Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara 2014 $150 Rich and powerfully spiced, with finely textured dark plum, currant and dark cherry flavors that are quite creamy. Medium-grained tannins show on the finish, with chocolate and allspice accents. Drink now through 2024. 180 cases made.—K.M. 93 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Lot No. 1 2014 $145 Offers a charming mix of rich flavors, graceful texture and deft balance, with a long, persistent finish, echoing the theme of dark berry, licorice, cedar and light mocha. Drink now through 2030. 367 cases made.—J.L. 93 Matriarch Napa Valley 2014 $240 Complex and layered, this deftly balanced red is silky smooth and supple-textured, allowing the core dark berry, anise, cedar and tobacco flavors room…

As a teen in the mid-1990s, “I wanted to be a writer,” says chef Michael Fiorelli. “Because of that, I read a lot.” He could tell restaurant culture was on the rise when the library began stocking chef biographies. As he was reading about the li-brarian-turned-top-chef Susanna Foo, something clicked. “The fact that she was a career-changer and she was a woman, doing Asian ingredients with French technique—groundbreaking at the time.” Fiorelli went on to cook at Foo’s namesake Philadelphia restaurant, followed by stints including the Wine Spectator Grand Award–winning Inn at Little Washington in Virginia and Best of Award of Excellence–winning Mar’sel in L.A. Today, at Love & Salt, an Award of Excellence winner in L.A., Fiorelli brings “a little bit of whimsy” to Italianate interpretations of homey classics.…